Dory Fantasmagory

Her siblings may roll their eyes at her childish games, but Dory has lots of things to do - outsmarting the monsters all over the house, escaping from prison (aka time-out), and exacting revenge on her sister's favourite doll.

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This early chapter book was so funny! Dory’s older brother and sister keep telling her to stop acting like a baby. Dory has a very active imagination with her imaginary friend, Mary. One day to stop her from acting like a baby, her siblings tell her Mrs. Gobble Gracker will come and get her. To help her out one day Dory meets Mr. Nuggy her fairy godmother.

This book had my five-year-old daughter and I laughing out loud. At times it was hard to know what was Dory’s imagination and what was real. Such is the life of a six-year-old imaginative kid.

My five-year-old absolutely loved this series. Very imaginative and funny, the illustrations kept my two-year-old engaged as well. They still talk about Mrs. Gobblegracker and whenever they have a banana they immediately “call” Mr. Nugy.

Dory has a very active imagination which keeps her occupied when her older brother and sister think she is too much of a baby to play with them. Love her energy and her imaginary monster playmate (Mary). The Mr.s Gobble Gracker bit goes on a bit long, otherwise a delightful story and illustrations.

Dory is a six year old with an overactive imagination and two older siblings who don't want to play with her. So in her spare time she makes up conversations and games with all of the imaginary monsters that live in her house. Dory also tries to play with her brother and sister, but they make her go away. One day they try to scare her by making up a nasty witch like woman that will be coming after Dory. But she simply turns it into a game. She also has her fairy godmother (an elf like man) turn her into a dog. She spends some time in this role which her older brother enjoys. No matter how little her siblings play with her, Dory doesn't let it get her down. She just goes into the world of fantasmagory which is a "dream-like state where real life and imagination are blurred together."

There are pencil drawings throughout the book. And although they are not highly refined, they add interest and fun and keep the story moving along nicely.

First of all, I love the title! Who wouldn't want to live in the world of fantasmagory? Dory is a precocious little girl with no one to play with so she makes up a world of her own. She at times takes the fantasy world a little too far, but she is having a great time. I love the way she uses a banana to call her fairy "godmother." I also love that at the end of the story she states that she knew what she had been doing was make believe so she knows the difference between real and fantasy. And how the kids come together as siblings should at the end is lovely. This is a fast paced read that the young crowd would enjoy. Recommended for grade 1-3

2 stars for me plus 1 more for all of the other positive reviews that lead me to conclude I must be the outlier and the target audience will enjoy it. While most others describe the book as hugely funny and Dory as intelligently imaginative, I neither laughed nor developed an appreciation for the character, as much as I tried (though I did appreciate her imagination). I found myself identifying with Dory's parents and siblings in finding her unbearably annoying due to her apparent total lack of consideration for others and inability to respect their perspectives (though it appeared she learned that from the rest of them); I guess I just don't find lack of empathy entertaining.